Portret van een man met vlinderstrik 1868 - 1881

This is Charles Reutlinger’s photograph of a man with a bow tie, held at the Rijksmuseum. The bow tie, a central motif, is more than mere sartorial choice. In the context of late 19th-century portraiture, it signifies a deliberate act of self-presentation. The sitter, adorned in this way, participates in a visual language of status and identity. Consider the evolution of such symbols throughout history; recall the ruffs of the Elizabethan era. These, much like the bow tie, served as declarations of social standing. The bow tie, then, is a descendent of this tradition, a modern echo of historical efforts to visually communicate one’s place in society. It’s a curious thing, this human impulse to adorn ourselves with symbols of status. Does it spring from some deep-seated need for recognition? Perhaps this image resonates because it taps into the collective memory of such desires. Through this lens, we see the echoes of past eras, cycles of visual communication resurfacing in different forms, each iteration carrying a weight of cultural and psychological significance.